Fruit Loops (Alicia Virgo, Nasrene Hosseini, Hanan Saadi, Shelby Collins)

Table on Content
1. Overarching theme
2. Zebra Mussel
- Origin
- Why is is used in this study
3. Ecology framework
- How an ecosystem functions
4. The four analogies in the study
- 1. Schools as ecosystems
- 2. Computer uses as living species
- 3. Teachers as Individuals and Members of Species
- 4. External Innovation as Invasion
5.Understanding Technology’s Uses in Schools: An Ecological Perspective
- 1. Two main types of uses
- 2. Will the species survive?
- 3. Ecosystem Metaphor
- 4. Study Time!
6. Current Technology Uses in Schools
-To what degree are technologies used in schools?
-What kind of techology uses are teachers engaged in?
7. Factors and Practices Affecting Techology Uses in Schools
8. An Ecosytemic Model of Influences on Technology Use
9. Discussion and Conclusion
10. References

Overarching theme:

This article aims to understand the answer to a common question: why isn’t technology used more in schools? By using an analogy of how a school is like an ecosystem, Zhao and Frank aim to discover the many themes that play into the reason why technology is not used as widely as it could be, and how we can change that so technology is readily available to all students.

Zebra Mussel

• Native of the Caspian Sea

• Trans- Atlantic shipping brought it to Canadian waters of Lake St. Clair in 1988 (p.1).

• Twelve years later, spread to all lakes

• This mussel was the inspiration for this study

• Why was it so successful/ how can we “invade” technology into the classroom just like this invasive species?

Ecology framework

• Ecosystem- lowest level in ecology- It is an open place where things are constantly leaving and entering

  • They need to maintain homeostasis in order to live
  • Contain both biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) factors
  • A species lives in its own niche (a specific place where an organism lives)
  • A few species in the ecosystem are called dominants- they are dominant
  • Most important ones are called keystone species- don’t have to be dominants
  • So now we assume
    • a) classrooms as ecosystems;
    • b) computer uses as living species;
    • c) teachers as members of a keystone species; and
    • d) external educational innovations as invasions of exotic species.
      
      
      • These metaphorical bridges are expected to help us apply what we learn from examples such as the zebra mussel invasion to our current task of understanding technology uses in schools (p.3).

• 
  

• 1. o Schools/classrooms as ecosystems

  • The Teaching environment is much like an ecosystem.

    • The Great Lakes- It is a complex system of many parts and relationship, of both biotic (living animals) and abiotic components (water, sand, sun).

    • Within the school, biotic (teachers, librarians, students), as well as abiotic (books, dictionaries, desks) are also at play.

      • Also, other “species” interact with each other so learning can take place (other teachers, librarian, administrators)

    • A school exists as a complete unit necessary for function over a long period of time in a hierarchy

      • Ex.: School, School district, State educational system, National educational system

• 2. Computer uses as living species

  • We have learned from the zebra mussel we cannot study the ecosystem alone, we need also to study the invading species, in this case, “computer uses.”
  • Computer is not just a simple calculating machine, it is complex, has different units and part, is constantly changing and adapting just like an organism.
  • Like living species, computers depend on “Survival of the fittest,” which is the notion that the better fit organism will survive and pass on its genes. In this case, the better computer is more likely to survive (MAC)

• 3. o Teachers as Individuals and Members of a Species

  • Individual members of a species also interact with each other
    • They can compete ( be selfish) as well as cooperate with each other
  • Some species show behaviors that appear to contradict the idea of “being selfish.”
    • Bees, for example, die for their fellow bees as some ants detonate themselves to protect the colony (Wright, 1994).
  • “Teachers are fundamentally selfish in that they are primarily concerned with the well-being of their classroom (Lortie 1979). “
    • But they also work in social groups, and need help sometime.
    • We can expect they would help others as needed, to be helped when they are needed.

• 4. External innovation as invasion

  • o Introduction of new species changes the equilibrium of the environment
  • o As in the zebra mussel invasion into the great lakes, when an invader species comes in, some different things can happen
    • Invader wipes out another species
    • Both the invader and current species can live in harmony
    • The invader can loose and perish
    • Both can sustain themselves but gain new properties from being introduced
  • o The computer uses are the invading species in our case
    • Whether they can become established depends on their compatibility with the environment, the teachers, and others in the environment.

Understanding Technology’s Uses in Schools: An Ecological Perspective

• Two main types of uses:
  • For teachers
  • For the student
• For teachers:
  • Immediate benefits at the micro level
  • More efficient and engaging lessons
• For students
  • When the teacher facilitates student lessons using technology then it provides a more systemic benefit, keeps the students engaged.
• For both
  • Teachers that are more efficient create better lessons for the students
  • Students that are more engaged will contribute to better classroom management

• Will the invading species survive?

  • Two Factors: Qualities and Compatability
    • Qualities
      • Qualities of the species (technology)
      • Interactions with the existing species and the ecosystem environment
        1. Longevity
           • Species needs consistent teacher promotion to survive in school
        2. Fecundity
           • For genes, means it makes copies faster
           • For technology, means that the more uses that teachers have for technology the more they are likely to use it
        3. Copy-Fidelity
           • Accuracy of copies (Multiplicity!)
           • Sort of a stretch when comparing with technology
           • Authors meant it to mean that innovators of technology want the users to implement their designs as they made them for.
  • Compatibility of these characteristics with the new environment
    • Teaching context as a multilevel hierarchy
      • Government level à Provides resources = Positive for technological survival
      • School district is more responsible for training and hardware so IF they provide the resources and the time then survival is more likely
      • The school itself:
        • Technology infrastructure
          • Availability of technology
        • Scheduling
    • Competition for resources
      • Example: Libraries
      • Reducing the need for teacher-centered instruction
    • Compatibility with teachers (We all know this is the biggie!)
      • Cost and benefits analysis
        • Pedagogical beliefs and styles
        • Knowledge of and attitudes towards computers
        • Perception of support from school and colleagues
        • Perception of pressure to use computers
        • Perceived results or consequences of use
      • Calculating the perceived costs and benefits
      • Their effects can be categorized into five groups:
      • Increase cost, reduce cost, increase benefit, reduce benefit, and no effect.
    • Reciprocal Altruism
      • Examine teacher’s reactions through a social capital lens
        • Pressure
        • Support

• Ecosystem Metaphor

• Study Time!

  • Four school districts from one state in the Midwest
  • Made sure all schools had technology available
  • Three types of data
    1. Survey all staff
    2. Interviews with administrators and technology staff
    3. Interviews and observations in one focal school in each district
  • Current Technology Uses in Schools
    • To what degree are technologies used in schools?
      • Most commonly used technologies reported by teachers
        • phone system
        • email
        • computers in classroom
  Consistent w/ecosystem metaphor: these technologies- simplest/require least adjustment to use
  • Teachers use computers in classroom more than in school computers
    • Maybe increased amount/quality of computers within classrooms
    • More convenient for teacher
      • for surfing net and processing emails.
  • Phones aren’t complex technology but facilitate communication between teachers, parents, community members, other schools.
  Ecosystem metaphor:
  • Phone enables organisms within ecosystem to interact
  • Different technologies compete for same niche (role in ecosystem) and complement each other
    • Complement-Phone and voicemail complement; video and TV complement
    • Compete-Increased use of TV or videos leads to decreased use of Powerpoint presentations
    • 
  • What kind of technology uses are teachers engaged in?
  Ecosystem model: Focus on how species interact/how teachers use computer rather than how frequent they interact/how often they use particular type of technology
  • Computers most frequently used
    • by teachers
    • to communicate with parents and for instructional preparation
    • Computers are least often used by students for
      • inquiry
      • communication/interaction
      • remediation
      • Technology most frequently used when it requires least amount of time invested
        • teachers have to restructure their instruction when students use technology making it more labor intensive than putting together a PowerPoint for lecture/emailing parents
      • Teachers use computers more frequently to communicate with parents than with students
        • Possibly because teachers able to communicate with students on a daily basis in class.
  Ecosystem analogy: teachers are selfish like organisms; they use computers in ways that are least time and labor intensive while providing most benefits.
• 
  
  • Factors and Practices Affecting Technology Uses in Schools
    • Factors affecting technology use:
      • Ecosystem-four districts comprised teacher sample
      • Niche-subjects taught, grade levels
      • Teacher-system Interaction-
        • “Teacher perceptions of district support”
          • Providing enough/appropriate hardware/software
          • Technical support
          • Professional development
        • “Adequacy of resources and support provided”
          • Computer resources are adequate for instructional and student needs
        • “Help received from colleagues”
        • “Pressure to use computers”
          • Because it would advance teacher’s position
          • It is expected of the teacher
        • “Presence of competing innovations”
          • Introduction of other new innovations within the school
        • “Playfulness”
          • Opportunities teachers had to interact with technology
      • Teacher (native species) Characteristics-
        • General tendency to innovate
          • Teachers enjoyment and willingness to experiment with new things in classroom
      • Teacher-computer (species-species) Predisposition to Compatibility
        • Compatibility-teacher compatibility with computers
          • Computers supporting teachers needs and could easily be integrated into the teacher’s teaching style
        • Complexity-teachers ability to independently solve technical problems
        • Relative advantage-technology’s perceived usefulness by teacher
      • Teacher Professional Development (opportunities for adaptation)
      • 
  • An Ecosystemic Model of Influences on Technology Use
    • There was greater difference in technology use between districts than schools
      • May be due to the fact that professional development and policies are addressed at district level and therefore consistent amongst schools within disctrict.
      • One district
        • Had a more systematic approach to professional development
          • Separate professional development for new teachers
          • Taught basic skills of technology before curriculum integration
          • Teacher led professional development (opposed to outside providers leading)
    • English teachers and upper grade teachers were more likely to use computers
      • This is because computers are a good tool for writing
    • Teachers more likely to receive assistance with computer use, integrated computers into classroom for students vs. teachers who felt pressured to use computers used them for their own purposes
    • Teachers who had more opportunities to experiment with software were more likely to use computers both for themselves and for students
    • Teachers that perceived computers to be compatible with their teaching style were more likely to use them for themselves and for students
    • Teachers used computers more frequently if they had opportunities to explore new technology independently
  Ecosystem metaphor-“…the more contact two species have with one another the more they adapt to each other” (37)

Discussion & Conclusion!

• Many components that affect technology are found in social aspects of school.
  • Informal help and information that teachers provide each other.
  • Informal social pressure that teachers exert on one another.
  • Play and experimentation of technology that teachers engage in during school and after.
  • This supports essential concept in ecological metaphor; mutual adaptation between species requires interactions at a local level.
  • Teachers make sense of external opinions and exert pressure on what's important for them locally.
  • Different colleagues will have different help resources, which will result in different technology use.

• Implications for Research
  1. The district from this study had already been promoting technology. Future research should study schools at different stages of technology adoption.
  2. Model draws attention to teachers' rational calculation of costs and benefits of adopting technology. It would be useful to find out what influences teachers' perceptions and how they can be changed.
  3. This study shows the important role of where teachers work and how they filter their resources, opinions, and innovations. Research should explore the internal social dynamics.
  4. Study did not examine characteristics of the more desired uses of the computer and under what conditions they may survive. Therefore, future research should investigate interactions between different uses.
  5. It is important to study the effects of computers on the school and teachers; what is replaced, changed, maintained.
  6. Study did not look at interactions between other species (books, references, libraries, etc) and technology. It would be useful to study these.

• Implications for Policy and Practice
  • Recruitment/selection of teacher: must consider how adaptable a teacher will be to technology.
  • Training/Socialization: Give teachers opportunities to experiment with software and demonstrated applications.
  • Consider providing opportunities for teachers to interact instead of standard PD.
  • Focus on a small number of innovations at any given time

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• Conclusion
  • Beware! Metaphors shouldn't be taken too far.
  • Ecological metaphor focused attention on interaction, activities, processes, and practices. May be useful for other types of educational innovations.
  • Authors suggest an evolutionary rather than revolutionary approach to school change.

References

Zhao, Y., & Frank, K. A. (2003). Factors affecting technology uses in schools: An ecological perspective. American educational research journal, 40(4), 807–840.


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